ASUS Zenbook UX32VD-DH71 13.3" Ultrabook - Core i7-3517U, 1920x1080 IPS LCD, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD + 24GB SSD, nVIDIA GT 620M, Win 8 - $1,149

Quote from grimtraveller : thanks OP - grabbed the following items to make for a tidy little xmas gift for myself $1,159.56 - ASUS Zenbook UX32VD-DH71 $ 319.00 Samsung 500GB/SSD 840 $ 40.20 Crucial CT102464BF160B 8GB $ 6.95 OWC / Other World Computing 5 Piece Mini Toolkit $ 14.94 Ruggard 13" Ultra Thin Laptop Sleeve (Black)

I think it comes with a sleeve. Just sayin'.

Nutty money get x401 for less! Is zen better if you like metal exterior then yes but $700 better no way

Quote from radb : Nutty money get x401 for less! Is zen better if you like metal exterior then yes but $700 better no way

I can't tell if you're a troll or just that misinformed. The X401 is a toy compared to this, seriously. The X401 has only got a Celeron B/Pentium B CPU (or maybe a Core i3 if you're really lucky) versus a Core i7 in the Zenbook. The X401 is limited to only 4GB of RAM (the UX32VD goes to at least 10GB). The X401 is crippled by a 1366x768 screen while the UX32VD has a full HD 1920x1080 display. The X401 has only Intel UMA integrated graphics versus the discrete nVidia chipset on the UX32VD, A despite being massively inferior to the UX32VD in nearly every technical spec, the X401 still is nearly twice as thick (1.3" vs .7") and weighs over 30% more.

It's not a question of preferring a metal vs plastic exterior, it's simply a fact that the X401 doesn't even begin to compare to the ZenBooks in any meaningful way.

Quote from Neo42 : Resolution is way too high for this size screen. Quite a paradox.

Quote from jesusXchrist : Lol? Look at the 15.4 retina display MacBook! What do you say to that??

It would make more sense to look at the 13.3 inch Retina Display MacBook Pro, which has 2560x1600 resolution, but their default scaling system effectively gives you the standard resolution of the 13.3 inch, 1280x800, with more than one physical pixel driving every 'virtual' pixel. The point being the you supposedly get a better picture this way.


The 15.4 inch Retina Display MacBook Pro has a 2880x1800 native resolution but again it is scaled by default to the standard 15in resolution, 1440x900.


There are other scaled resolutions available, but Apple will not let you run your own display at its native resolution without scaling. For example, on the 15.4 inch unit, there is no way to simply have a 2880x1800 resolution, there is no option for it in the display settings.


I sell Apple computers to both departments at my University and students. If you want high resolution 13in display this Zenbook 1080p IPS will work just as well, unless you can circumvent Apple's restrictive software with a hack of some kind (not sure if this has been done yet).

How is battery life of $1100 laptop. I owned $1500 laptop in 2004 worst purchase ever only good as paper weight today. What ever happened to centrino processors. Samsung X10 was lappy hell x401 tromps it in specs today

Quote from amax : From retina displays to 1080p smartphones, laptop manufacturers are getting their asses handed to them and they totally deserve the nosedive in profits.

Complete BS. Laptops companies using 768 are making massive profits. EG lenovo, whose profits and market share have skyrocketed. And you seem to be the only one here unaware that laptops and desktops are suffering because of tablets generally -- not anything to do with resolution.

Quote from amax : A discrete GPU is essential for more than just gaming. Ever created something? Video? Heard of Adobe?

LOL, I was a buyer for a a graphic design firm. Video editing and graphic desing with adobe are heavily processor dependent and a processor bump is 100x more important than a gpu bump.

Quote from Neo42 : I say obscenely high, unpractical DPI for a notebook. I am typing on a 23" 1080p monitor right now. If it were 13", I'd have to be wearing reading glasses, with my face 12" from the screen, to provide any practical advantage. Then again, I'm just a dev and not a graphic designer. What are people getting out of these silly high DPI displays and at what cost (reduced battery life, higher price, etc)? Not worth it, but that's just IMO.

Correct. repped

Quote from CoryG89 : It would make more sense to look at the 13.3 inch Retina Display MacBook Pro, which has 2560x1600 resolution, but their default scaling system effectively gives you the standard resolution of the 13.3 inch, 1280x800, with more than one physical pixel driving every 'virtual' pixel. The point being the you supposedly get a better picture this way. The 15.4 inch Retina Display MacBook Pro has a 2880x1800 native resolution but again it is scaled by default to the standard 15in resolution, 1440x900. There are other scaled resolutions available, but Apple will not let you run your own display at its native resolution without scaling. For example, on the 15.4 inch unit, there is no way to simply have a 2880x1800 resolution, there is no option for it in the display settings. I sell Apple computers to both departments at my University and students. If you want high resolution 13in display this Zenbook 1080p IPS will work just as well, unless you can circumvent Apple's restrictive software with a hack of some kind (not sure if this has been done yet).

Thanks. this has been noted before when people talk about retina, but some people dont get it. repped.

Quote from radb : How is battery life of $1100 laptop. I owned $1500 laptop in 2004 worst purchase ever only good as paper weight today. What ever happened to centrino processors. Samsung X10 was lappy hell x401 tromps it in specs today

According to reviews this Zenbook is getting 5-7 hours depending on what you're doing and how bright you have the screen, etc.

There's more to a laptop than just it's price.

how is this considered an ultrabook if it has hdd...but i'm surprised you can swap it out as well as add ram

Quote from Neo42 : I say obscenely high, unpractical DPI for a notebook. I am typing on a 23" 1080p monitor right now. If it were 13", I'd have to be wearing reading glasses, with my face 12" from the screen, to provide any practical advantage. Then again, I'm just a dev and not a graphic designer. .

I do large excel spreadsheets and video editing on my vaio z (1920 x 1080). I often must decrease the resolution to 1300 or so to make it more usable. The high resolution is a nice-to-have, especially with laptop competition, but not as important as I perceived as a potential purchaser.

Santa was busy last night, but did manage to drop this off to me!

Merry XMas SD forum.

Quote from cheapchips : I just did some research. It seems that 2GB is soldered, another 2GB is upgradeable to a 4GB stick. If I can fit 6GB total, I'd pull the trigger on this. End of the year writeoffs. Does anyone know for sure?

I have the UX3VD got it when it came out, amazing ultrabook. 2GB is soldered the other 2GB you can remove up to 8GB for a total of 10GB RAM.

Quote from aero : Complete BS. Laptops companies using 768 are making massive profits. EG lenovo, whose profits and market share have skyrocketed. And you seem to be the only one here unaware that laptops and desktops are suffering because of tablets generally -- not anything to do with resolution. LOL, I was a buyer for a a graphic design firm. Video editing and graphic desing with adobe are heavily processor dependent and a processor bump is 100x more important than a gpu bump. Correct. repped Thanks. this has been noted before when people talk about retina, but some people dont get it. repped.

Utter failure at counterarguments here but it certainly sounds cocky and authoritative. Lenovo is alone in reporting impressive profits and anywise you are anti-intellectually generalizing (and you know it). In the sector of Ultrabooks that are solely relevant to this thread discussion, it's a financial disaster and the even just slightly higher level of sophistication in customers looking at Ultrabooks means that the pathetic resolution offered in the vast majority of these products has been a primary contribution to their trainwreck. "Profits" are coming from cross-subsidization in other product lines.

No one gives a shit that you were mere a "buyer for a graphic design firm" when commenting about video and how Adobe leverages processing power for Premiere et al. You have no idea about the impact of GPU acceleration in the Adobe Mercury Playback Engine, so you shouldn't have even bothered commenting (and misleading people).

You basically accomplished two things: showing that you don't know much of anything, and also perpetuating the leverage of these manufacturers who LOVE consumers like you encouraging us to stay locked in technology a decade old. Translation: you're their bitch.

Quote from amax : Utter failure at counterarguments here but it certainly sounds cocky and authoritative. Lenovo is alone in reporting

Look, you have very little knowledge of the business, it is pretty clear form your posts. You gave claimed Lenovo is losing money, and in fact they advanced to number one in makers this past year.
So I dont know what you mean by "cocky and authoritative" I am noting what you can read in WSJ or any trade publications, Anyone can go to google news and see how wrong you are.

Your insistence that everyone should be buying much more than they need is just silly.

Are you saying everyone buying an AMD is a "bitch?" you seem to be saying that. Are you saying everyone not buying eight cores is a "bitch?".

I like ultra lights. Shall I copy your trolling and go on every thread of laptops over 2.5 lbs and list peopel are "bitches" for getting heavy bricks?

You r posts show you don't know much about laptops, you keep getting schooled y suers here, and you lash out. Don't get your panties in such a twist friend!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6834230670

User reviews not so hot.

I looked at one of these in person. Love the specs and quality of display, but a few things bothered me about it:

Keyboard was crap
I thought the resolution was a bit to big for the 13.3" screen (would be perfect at 15" size I think), some users will like just not me
The touchpad responded very poorly
The price was a bit much

Also, as pointed out, there's not a ton of good competition for 1080 IPS ultrabooks just yet. Plus there are some gains to consider with next years Haswell chips in terms of battery life so maybe another generation would be best to wait.

For those looking at this who can tolerate a bad keyboard, check out Vizio's 15" thin and light (model CT15-A4 only, older ones have other issues). It's got a nice IPS, 1080 display, with a SSD part of the deal. Not upgradable 4GB RAM and crappy keyboard but very, very nicely built otherwise. Plus it's way cheaper.